


waiting room

by madryn



Category: Number24
Genre: Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22287328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madryn/pseuds/madryn
Summary: this shit suck bruh i just wanted to be first
Relationships: Natsusa Yuzuki/Seiichiro Jingyoji
Comments: 8
Kudos: 147





	waiting room

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my garbage for #24grp

It was hard; nursing Natsusa back to health.

He was stubborn, fighting, and straining every step of the way. If Seiichirou asked him to take a bite of food, he would refrain. Natsusa quickly moved passed making excuses, and he soon learned that it was easiest just to shut his mouth and ignore Seiichirou's pleas altogether. While every excuse he did attempt to make was met with fierce opposition and overwhelming animus, Natsusa was surprised that Seiichirou never rose to the bait, never held any smidgeon of hostility or anger within the timbre of his voice. No matter how annoying or how cold Natsusa dared to be, Seiichirou never moved from the chair stationed next to his hospital bed.

For Seiichirou, Natsusa's surprise was clear to see, easy to identify. While Natsusa shined in the spotlight, grew up preening under other's delighted gazes, Seiichirou always lingered in the recesses. He did not care for the limelight, did not bother to want or wish for the attention others laid at Natsusa's feet. The only thing he had ever really cared for was Natsusa, and he accepted that for what it was. 

The sun rose in the sky, the moon shined in the night, and Seiichirou loved Natsusa. 

It was not something that he thought about regularly or even lingered over. There was never a grand reveal, a monumental moment where Seiichirou froze midstep and thought, _I'm in love with my best friend_. Instead, it was something that Seiichirou accepted as just another piece of who he was. He played rugby, his favorite food was _toriten_ , and he was in love with Natsusa. 

It made nursing him back to health that much harder, Seiichirou tended to think. 

It was not in his blood to ignore Natsusa in any normal circumstances, let alone in his time of need. The sight of Natsusa, usually so full of life and enigmatic, lying prone and immobilized and looking far too small in the swath of white sheets, left a dire impact on Seiichirou. Seeing his friend so close to death had been shocking; it was a sight that he had never thought he would see, never expected to see, never wanted to see. Maybe it was amplified because of his feelings for Natsusa, but Seiichirou could not stomach the sight. Seeing his friend like that shook Seiichirou to his core, and he promised himself that he would not let harm befall Natsusa ever again. Even if he had to drag his best friend, kicking and screaming, back into a happy life, he would do it. Maybe it's out of selfishness that Seiichirou would not let Natsusa skip out on physical therapy or eating or bathing. If it's selfishness that would bring Natsusa back to him, back to the same enigmatic boy that he was before the accident, then Seiichirou was okay with being selfish.

\----------------------------------------

"Do you hate him?" The words tumble out of Seiichirou's mouth, but he does not make a move to stop them. It's never been in him to be dishonest, not to anyone, but especially not to Natsusa. "For what's happened to you?"

The machines anchored to Natsusa's arms whirr quietly in the background, their rhythmic beeps merely white noise to the boys' ears after so long. It's silent outside of Natsusa's hospital room, a longways down the hall set aside for long-term care. Most residents only leave for physical therapy or a trip down to the cafeteria if they are up for it. Guests are somber and solemn, but overall respectful to all occupants. 

"Hm?" Natsusa hums, blinking his eyes into clarity. He was zoned out, staring at the tv mounted to the wall across from him, but the timbre of Seiichirou's voice brings him back into rapid focus. "What was that?"

Seiichirou loses a bit of his resolve, then, with those wide, searching eyes focused on him. He continues, anyway, because it's something he's been wondering, needing to know. He steels himself and unblinkingly matches Natsusa's gaze when he asks again, "Do you hate Ibuki for what has happened to you?" 

Those green eyes break, just a little, and Seiichirou almost regrets asking. Natsusa quickly composes himself, seals up those tiny cracks in his composure, but Seiichirou had already seen the emotion that threatened to seep out of his childhood friend. He sees Natsusa's mouth quirk in an aborted motion to speak, but he instead sighs through his teeth and reclines more deeply into the mountain of pillows behind him.

"Yeah, I do," Natsusa finally says, after a pause. He barks out a sharp laugh and continues: "I don't want to hate him, though. Well, I do, but I don't. Stupid, right?" 

"It isn't stupid," Seiichirou tries to say, but Natsusa keeps talking as if the former had not spoken.

"I can't even remember the details of the drive, honestly. The last thing I remember before waking up in this forsaken hospital was you telling the two of us to _be careful_. Funny. It's funny how I'll never play rugby again, how I don't even know where Ibuki is or how he is doing, funny that I lost all I had ever wanted because of some stupid bike."

And Seiichirou knows it isn't right to let Natsusa get so worked up, knows that it will do more harm than good to his physical recovery, but, at the same time, Seiichirou knows that Natsusa needs this. He needs to get his emotions out, needs to vent his frustrations before they tear him apart from the inside. 

And Natsusa is crying now, tears of frustration and anger rather than pain like they have been in the past, but the sight of those tears rips at something deep inside of Seiichirou. He wishes that it had been him, that it had never happened at all, that Natsusa had not forgotten his mouthpiece that day. Seiichirou is not one much for regret, does not mull over the events of the past, and stumble through the what-ifs of his actions, but he does now, just for a moment. 

"What's the point of even being alive if I don't have rugby?" Natsusa whispers and Seiichirou is at a loss for words. 

\----------------------------------------

When Natsusa stands in front of the team and states that he is to become a manager, it scares Seiichirou more than he would like to admit. Seiichirou does not like to feel out of control, and yet that is all he feels when he's around the whirlwind that is Natsusa Yuzuki. 

Before he knows what he's doing, Seiichirou finds himself storming out of the room. 

He doesn't speak to Natsusa, not until they are well into their walk back from practice. Natsusa keeps making aborted motions to talk, begins of conversations turned stilted after one look towards Seiichirou's blank face.

Finally, Natsusa seems to settle and says, with wide green eyes, "You're mad."

Seiichirou remains resolute, staring straight ahead and continuing to walk down the well-memorized path. He doesn't bother to give in to Natsusa's statement, does not hear anything worthy of replying to. 

"Hey, don't ignore me," Natsusa near pleas, his eyes still focused on Seiichirou. He does not stop to think before he tries again, "Are you mad?"

In a relentless move, Seiichirou pinches the skin of Natsusa's face without missing a beat, without a hitch in his step. "Not really," he says, but even in his monotonous words, is it evident that he is.

Natsusa recognizes this, has known Seiichirou for too many years to not recognize the nuances in his behavior, the hidden meaning behind the sternness of his voice. With the meat of his cheek still trapped between his best friend's fingers, he whines: "You're completely pissed!"

Seiichirou responds by letting go of his cheek. Natsusa is not wrong with his statement.

"You would have been against it if I told you, right?" He continues, rubbing the soreness from his cheek with one hand. Natsusa grimaces slightly at the pain radiating from his skin, but the rubbing seems to help at least a little, and Seiichirou is too kind to hurt him, anyways. 

Turning his head towards Natsusa slowly, Seiichirou states, blandly, "Managers run and carry heavy things. You'd have to stand the entire time we practice. Chilly days may hurt your body." 

It is a true statement, one that does not support an argument. Seiichirou is like that, though. He speaks plainly, not with riddles or tricks of the tongue, not in a cruel and tricky manner like Natsusa. He is honest with his words, and he means what he says plainly. 

"I'll be careful!" Natsusa exclaims, but his enthusiastic response is quickly cut off.

"That can only get you so far," Seiichirou says, serious. He begins to walk off again; his thoughts centered on Natsusa: his health, his progress, his past. He nursed Natsusa back to health once, but he could not imagine having to do it a second time. Seiichirou hears the begins of a whisper behind him, but he keeps walking. He knows Natsusa well, knows that the other needs a moment to process his thoughts before he can say what he means. So, Seiichirou keeps walking. Natsusa has no problem being loud.

"Please! Sei!" Seiichirou hears Natsusa yell from behind him, and he stops momentarily to listen. He turns his whole body back towards his childhood friend and waits. Natsusa's eyes are shining brightly, even from the distance they are at, and Seiichirou feels his resolve breaking at the sight. It's something he has not seen from his best friend in far too long. Natsusa takes a deep breath and continues: "Please let me stay close to rugby!"

Despite knowing the answer, Seiichirou asks, "Are you sure about this? It'll be tough on you."

Natsusa's yell of "Yeah!" reaffirms what Seiichirou already knows, what he has already accepted. He sighs and moves to continue walking.

"Well, if you can't move anymore, I'll take care of you," Seiichirou tells him. He means it, too. Even if it hurts him, even if it breaks his heart in two all over again, Seiichirou will help Natsusa through anything. That's his role, as the best friend. Even though it puts him through hell, Seiichirou resolves himself to be there for Natsusa every step of the way.


End file.
